The Kansas City Star
Crash of skydiving plane kills 12 in Butler, Mo., officials say
A plane crash at Butler Memorial Airport on Sunday killed 12 people, including a pilot and 11 skydivers, according to Bates County authorities. The crash happened during takeoff and was reported about 11:27 a.m., Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson...
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World Cup is chance for Mexico fans to revel in culture & community
Thousands of supporters dressed in green gathered beneath gray skies Thursday when Kansas City officially opened its FIFA World Cup Fan Festival with Mexico’s first match of the tournament, transforming the grounds of the National World War I Museum...
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How The Kansas City Star is covering the 2026 World Cup
City, the world is here. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the biggest in the history of the international soccer tournament with teams representing 48 nations competing. Four of those countries — Algeria, Argentina, England and The Netherlands — will call...
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Defying Trump with brief Iran fight, Israel seeks more sway
In launching renewed strikes on Iran on Monday in apparent open defiance of Donald Trump, Israel has tried to make its case to have a say at the peace negotiating table, where it has so far been kept at arm’s length by the U.S. president. Despite...
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How 100 days of Iran war exposed US vulnerability
As the United States’ war against Iran hits the 100-day mark, early military triumphs have given way to a costly stalemate that could have severe consequences for perceptions of Washington’s might abroad. What began as an overfigures, whelming display...
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Fans praise experience at Morton Amphitheater debut
First impressions are very important when it comes to new places. Kansas City’s latest music venue made a good one for many visitors Wednesday, including myself. The Morton Amphitheater in Riverside had its first-ever show Wednesday when pop singer...
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Restaurants filling KC stores for World Cup see big opportunity
James Thomas had a dream of one day opening his own daiquiri shop, serving the refreshing rum cocktails to celebratory Kansas Citians. But opening a business in a storefront, he said, felt too risky. So he put his business idea into a mobile truck,...
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New KC venue offers open space and star views
A new era for entertainment begins this week in the Kansas City area. With the Morton Amphitheater in Riverside hosting its first-ever show Wednesday, there’s a clear emphasis for them to make sure the fan experience is one they won’t forget. You’ll...
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Nonprofit plans Asian cultural district in Kansas City
Café Cà Phê and Hella Good Deeds began with coffee, festivals and community gatherings. Now, the two sister organizations are working toward building permanent infrastrucShackelford, ture for Kansas City’s Asian community. That vision includes mental...
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Iran requires concrete concessions for deal with US
Iran will sign a framework agreement with the US only once concrete concessions including the release of billions in frozen accounts - have been secured, according to its chief negotiator. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf reiterated during...
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KC’s 18th and Vine ushers in next era with new look
After nearly a year of construction, Kansas City officials, cultural leaders, business owners and residents gathered Wednesday morning to celebrate the reopening of the new pedestrian mall in the historic 18th & Vine Historic Jazz District, marking one...
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Morton Amphitheater set to open next week
Before you arrive to the Kansas City area’s newest music venue, make sure you’re aware of what you’re allowed to bring into the building. The Morton Amphitheater in Riverside will officially open June 3 when pop singer Kesha is set to perform. Like...
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Joe’s KC BBQ opens new ‘Next Door’ bar and grill concept
World-famous Joe’s KC BBQ isn’t known for its salmon dip and sauvignon blanc slushies. But its sister concept, Joe’s Next Door, is about to be. Situated just across the street from the tourist-centric gas station location at 500 County Line Road,...
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Official: Iran envoys discussing peace deal with Qatar PM
Iran’s top negotiator and its foreign minister were in Doha for talks with Qatar’s prime minister on a potential deal with the U.S. to end the threemonth-old war, an official briefed on the visit said on Monday, after Washington and Tehran played down...
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No rush for Iran deal, US blockade stays, Trump says
US President Donald Trump said Sunday that he had told his representatives not to rush into any deal with Iran, appearing to dampen hopes of an imminent breakthrough in the threemonth-old war that had been raised by both sides a day earliThere er. The...
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United Market KC promises safety, community jobs
Right before the Sun Fresh on Prospect closed for business, the shelves were empty, Christopher Miller remembered. On Wednesday, May 20, he walked into a new store in a space that you wouldn’t believe was previstocked ously a struggling grocery store...
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Ward Parkway mansion divides neighborhood opinions
The sign at the construction site where, over the last year, a modern and nearly 10,000square-foot mansion has been rising at 6315 Ward Parkway, delivers a friendly message. “Hi, Neighbors!” reads the sign, put up by Kansas City’s sixtwentyone...
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Trump: Iran may face ‘big hit’ if a deal isn’t reached soon
President Donald Trump says the United States could resume strikes on Iran in the coming days as part of the push for a deal to end the war, after he said he had just called off a U.S. attack. “I hope we don’t have to do the war, but we may have to...
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VP, GOP leaders gather for manufacturing policy talk
JD Vance was scheduled to speak at Milbank Manufacturing, a manufacturer of electrical metering equipment, on Monday to tout manufacturing policies under President Donald Trump. The Missouri Republican Party had invited people to attend the event by...
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Federal funding for ballroom in jeopardy after Senate ruling
A U.S. Senate official on Saturday removed security funding that could be used for President Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom from a massive spending package, Democratic lawmakers said, imperiling Republican efforts to devote taxpayer money...
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Eden Village tiny homes offer stability, with more planned
Cariann Lile’s evenings are quieter, safer than what she knew before. Her Kansas City, Kansas, neighborhood is gated, it’s locked and the people she spent years afraid of can’t reach her anymore. She has a rescue cat, Kiwi, whom she knows would scare...
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Hyperscale AI data center breaks ground in Independence
Before December 2025, many Independence residents had never heard of artificial intelligence data centers, the massive warehouses filled with specialized computer equipment that keeps AI programs running on devices nationwide. Now, construction has...
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Art Institute considers buying 113-year-old KC manor
In the heart of Kansas City, a 113-year-old historic manor — the $1.3 million family home of two brothers who have long looked to raze to the ground their brick house with its Corinthian white pillars, ornamental plaster ceilings and sweeping staircase...
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Jazz, cocktails are focus of new Crossroads bar
Jon Copaken’s memories of his friend, Ted Burns, include nights spent in the 18th & Vine District. There, the pair of college students would listen to the trills of saxophones and shake hands with musicians, sometimes giving band members rides to...
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Energy secretary floats pause in federal gas tax
Chris Wright, the energy secretary, said Sunday that the Trump administration would be open to pausing the federal gas tax to give Americans some relief at the pump. “All measures that can be taken to lower the price of at the pump and lower the...
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Jalisco’s closure marks end of a local legacy
Late Wednesday morning at Jalisco’s in Kansas City, Kansas, longtime customers scraped their forks against their plates, enjoying some of their final bites at the restaurant. Jalisco’s has been serving Mexican food since Martin Luther King Jr. was...
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Costume team blends tradition, innovation for Oz
The energy was electric Tuesday morning inside the Spencer Theater’s costume room. Racks of completed clothing were rolled in and out; gold ribbons and emeraldcolored costumes in velvet and satin draped over work tables as stitchers and drapers wrapped...
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KC businesses uncertain about World Cup fan turnout
Lara Gray, the owner with her husband, Kyle, of the Casual Animal Brewing Co. — sitting at 1725 McGee St., only blocks from where thousands of soccer fans in June and July are expected to pour into Kansas City’s 2026 FIFA World Cup Fan Festival — spent...
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Will corner with deep ties to KC barbecue history be saved?
Large-scale transformation is underway in Kansas City’s Historic 18th & Vine Jazz District: a pedestrian mall through the middle of the neighborhood, museum expansions, a new hotel, a new parking garage, multiple historic building rehabs including a...
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Window washer’s videos bringing new life to KC restaurants
In the digital age, marketing is crucial to help small businesses succeed. One Kansas City man is helping local establishments learn that, using Meta glasses, social media and the power of cleaning windows. Davis Roethler is the cowith owner of Window...
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KC’s World Cup spirit is on full display at airport
Only weeks remain before hundreds of thousands of soccer fans are expected to start descending on Kansas City for the first game, on June 16, of the month-long 2026 FIFA World Cup competition. But, so far, no banners have been hung at the Country Club...
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Family awarded $7.65M in fatal KU Med surgery infection case
A Wyandotte County jury on Tuesday awarded $7.65 million in damages to the wife and son of a Raytown man who the family alleged contracted a fatal infection from a contaminated device used during his heart surgery at KU Med. The jury attributed 88% of...
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Corner in Spring Hill suffers brunt of early-morning storm
A thunder and lightning storm that rattled much of the Kansas City area Sunday night and into Monday morning was even more severe for a corner of Johnson County — literally. The corner was at West 207th Street and South Ridgeview Road in Spring Hill,...
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Kansas crop artist will welcome World Cup team to Lawrence
As Ruth DeWitt and other World Cup organizers in Lawrence planned how to spotlight the city’s arts and culture scene during this summer’s festivities, people kept telling her: Call Stan Herd. Lawrence will serve as the base camp for Algeria’s soccer...
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Investigators seek motive in shooting at Washington dinner
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday that investigators had collected details and other evidence about a suspect in a shooting that sent Secret Service agents rushing President Donald Trump from the stage at the White House correspondents’...
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Royals unveil new stadium plans with many details unclear
Inside a ritzy event venue overlooking the Kansas City skyline, Royals majority owner John Sherman on Wednesday unveiled plans for a new stadium in Crown Center, a celein bratory announcement that marked the apex of the team’s yearslong, chaotic hunt...
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Royals announce move to Crown Center with Hallmark
At long last, the Kansas City Royals’ half-decade search for a new stadium location is nearing a conclusion. The Royals, in a press release Wednesday morning, announced their intentions to move to Crown Center, a sprawling, 85-acre mixed-use shopping...
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Road construction projects near completion ahead of World Cup
Traffic cones and metal plates are scattered over Kansas City as crews put the finishing touches on road construction ahead of the FIFA World Cup. In two months, an estimated 650,000 visitors are expected to come to Kansas City for the six matches at...
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House for sale in Lawrence has history: Naismith lived there
As a proud graduate of the University of Kansas and avid KU basketball fan, Jan-Eric Anderson knew he stood in a special place nearly 10 years ago when he and his wife, Amy, stepped inside the house at 1515 University Drive near the Lawrence...
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Hamas officials say group is ready to hand over some weapons
Hamas is ready to relinquish thousands of automatic rifles and other weapons belonging to its police force and other internal security services in the Gaza Strip, according to two officials of the group. Such a step would be a remarkable concession...
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Independence considers selling historic sites to cut costs
The city of Independence is considering selling two of the city’s most beloved historical sites in the face of outsized maintenance costs. City officials could move in the coming months to sell the Bingham-Waggoner Estate and Vaile Mansion, two...
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Hillsdale tornado leaves homes leveled, vehicles flipped
Before a tornado flipped his trailer on its side, before he was huddled in a concrete storm shelter in the center of the park, and before the sirens made him feel uneasy, Terry Scott set up his tripod to get pictures of the storm rolling into...
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Tornado roars through Ottawa, Kansas, leaving wide damage
Randy and Gwen McCurdy stood on their porch off Main Street on Monday night in Ottawa, Kansas, scanning the sky for signs of the storm. Then the sirens sounded. “There was no rain,” said Randy McCurdy, 70. But then it descended. In sheets. “You...
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Look inside historic Kansas City home restored after fire
As children and adults walked by a historic three-story Victorian-style home on a sunny afternoon in the quiet and historic Pendleton Heights neighborhood, you’d never be able to tell looking at it from the outside that a fire almost burned it to the...
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US, Iran fail to reach deal after marathon talks, Vance says
The U.S. and Iran failed to reach an agreement after marathon talks in Pakistan, raising doubts about whether they can find a lasting resolution to a six-week war that has killed thousands and disrupted energy supplies across the globe. Vice President...
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Israel agrees to talks with Lebanon after continued attacks
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel vowed Thursday to continue striking Hezbollah in Lebanon, hours after he appeared to make a concession by saying his country would start talks with the Lebanese government about trying to disarm the...
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Fragile ceasefire takes hold as Iran, US both claim victory
The United States and Iran announced a two-week ceasefire and plans to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday evening, hours before a deadline set by President Donald Trump, who had threatened to destroy Iran’s “whole civilization” unless it...
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Artemis II heads for Earth and Trump congratulates crew
The crew of Artemis II flew farther from Earth than any human in history, saw parts of the moon never seen before and spoke with President Donald Trump as they took a turn for their return flight home. “Today you’ve made history and made all America...
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Love and unity on display at Parade of Hearts’ 2026 showcase
The Parade of Hearts were gathered in full force Saturday, April 4, in Overland Park before the sculptures get shipped away to their destinations across Kansas City and the surrounding area. Out of 700 applicants, 150 applicants were selected , and...
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Second downed US pilot rescued from Iran, Trump says
U.S. forces have rescued the second of two missing airmen who were shot down over Iran, President Donald Trump announced Sunday. “WE GOT HIM!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, adding that the “serious wounded” airman, whom he...
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Smithville community helps businesses destroyed by fire
A day after flames and smoke ravaged through a Smithville strip mall, a smattering of fallen bricks marked with ash, piles of charred wood and burnt beams now sit where five local businesses once stood. The remnants of Monday’s blaze sat largely...
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Black creators are reshaping cosplay culture in Kansas City
Over the weekend, thousands of fans filled the halls of Planet Comic Con Kansas City, moving between panels, vendor booths and clusters of costumed characters brought to life from screens and pages. Among them, Black cosplayers made up a smaller share...
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‘New old offering’: Screenland brings back film projectors
Screenland Armour owner Adam Roberts said he grew up watching movies on film until the late 2000s to early 2010s, when digital made its mandatory way into theaters. When he took over Screenbring land in 2012, film was dying, and the North Kansas City...
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Kansas City Symphony to build new concert hall in Plaza area
The Kansas City Symphony plans to break ground on a new Plaza-area concert venue in 2026. The music hall, located on the vacant land to the south of the Kansas City Public Library’s Plaza branch, will seat 4,600 for touring concerts and film with live...
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Iran sends US warning over troops on ground
A senior Iranian official has warned Tehran will set U.S. troops “on fire” and attack American allies in the Middle East if the White House puts ground troops onto Iranian soil. Iran’s military is “waiting for the arrival of American troops on the...
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Why small Johnson County bar keeps earning national acclaim
Listed on the bottom right corner of Drastic Measures’ menu is the College Dropout, a glowing yellow cocktail served in a coupe glass. It’s a woodsy drink with St. George Terroir gin (which has the flavor profile of a Douglas fir), absinthe, lime and...
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Iran dismisses ceasefire offer but signals openness to talks
Iran on Wednesday publicly dismissed President Donald Trump’s proposal for a ceasefire, with a military spokesperson and a report in state media insisting that the conflict would end only on Iran’s terms. Iranian officials have neversaid theless...
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Open kitchen fosters fellowship between Anjin staff, diners
During dinner service one evening at Crossroads restaurant Anjin, chef de cuisine Sam Edelson cranked the sound system as the Backstreet Boys began to sing. The voices of cooks and customers arose to harmonize with Nick Carter. Soon enough, the entire...
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Self unsure if he’ll return as KU basketball coach
Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self says he’s not yet made up his mind on whether he’ll coach a 24th season in Lawrence. The 63-year-old Hall of Famer explained his thoughts on his future after the Jayhawks’ 67-65 NCAA Tournament Round of 32 loss...
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Fans whose home was gutted by fire get artist’s Chiefs mural
The last year hasn’t been the best for Ed and Mary Ellen Hughes. A year of inconvenience, they call it. Three days before St. Patrick’s Day last year, fire ravaged the home where they have lived more than 23 years on a cul-defans sac in Liberty. They...
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Longtime KC civil rights leader, Gwen Grant, to retire in 2027
After nearly 30 years leading the Urban League of Greater Kansas City and being the mouthpiece shouting down injustice and threats of any kind to the rights of Black Kansas Citians and the historically marginalized, Gwendolyn Grant has announced she is...
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KC Bolivian immigrant named 2026 James Beard semifinalist
No two nights at Fern Bar are the same. That’s bar manager Diana Condori’s goal, anyway. If conversations between tables are bubbling over like Prosecco, and laughter is flowing freely like wine, she’ll crank the volume to a pop playlist and watch...
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Morton Amphitheater opening in June with busy concert lineup
What was once 165 acres of land in Riverside is just a few months away from hosting national touring acts and thousands of fans inside a brandnew outdoor concert venue. Constructions crews are closer to the completion of Morton Amphitheater, a...
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Atlas 9’s ‘surprise elements’ drew world-class dancer to KC
Atlas 9’s found its footing in Kansas City since opening in September 2025. More pieces to the 90s-themed interactive movie theater have been added since, inviting guests to unlock the secrets behind the films coming to life. It was also named the...
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Pentagon IDs 6 service members killed in refueling mission
The Department of Defense has identified the six U.S. service members killed during a refueling mission as part of the Iran war as three members of an Air Force refueling wing and three from the Ohio Air National Guard. The six crew members were...
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Kansas and Missouri agencies partner with ICE under Trump
A Christmas Eve drive in southwest Missouri was the last time two Guatemalan men living in Branson were free from the grasp of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That morning, cars streamed down I-44 outside of Springfield, taking in the...
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Leavenworth approves CoreCivic’s ICE detention center
Within days, immigrants arrested by federal authorities could find themselves locked inside CoreCivic’s razor wireringed concrete prison on the outskirts of Leavenworth. A multi-year campaign to reopen the shuttered facility as an ICE detention center...
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Kelce’s return cause to celebrate; how much depends on this
Even in the twilight of his career, the return of megastar Travis Kelce is an obvious cause for celebration for the Chiefs and their fans. The charismatic and intense Kelce embodies and even animates the culture of the Andy Reid-era Chiefs,...
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Renderings show plan for park atop South Loop highway downtown
A high-profile project that’s been in the works for years is close to reality in downtown Kansas City, but some council members are taking a critical eye before construction starts this summer. Officials presented the City Council with an update about...
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Trump witnesses return of bodies of US service members
President Donald Trump watched as the remains of the first American service members killed in the U.S. war with Iran arrived in the United States on Saturday afternoon at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. The six Americans were Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien;...
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Iconic restaurant’s new vision is ‘Dear’ to owners’ hearts
James Beard-nominated chefs Johnny and Helen Jo Leach know full-well what Happy Gillis meant to the community. Craving breakfast this summer, the Leach family headed down to 549 Gillis St. for a bite with their daughter (it was her request, actually)....
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160-pound tuna cutting turns dinner into cultural experience
More than 70 people filled KC Craft Ramen on Monday night, crowding around tables and lining the walls. They were not there for ramen. At the center of the room sat a 160-pound bluefin tuna stretched across a prep table, its silvery body nearly...
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War expands as US, Israel, Iran ramp up regional strikes
U.S.-Israeli war on Iran reverberated across the region for a fourth day, with oil and gas prices surging and the world adjusting to a conflict that President Donald Trump says has no fixed timeline. Iran sent a fresh wave of missiles at countries...
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Johnson County’s best restaurant may be in a shopping center
a page in Swetha Newcomb’s childhood diary, second-grade script foretells her future. “I can’t wait till I’m older, and I can walk up and down in my restaurant in my fancy outfit,” wrote her younger self. Now 31, Newcomb’s words from long ago paint a...
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KC Curling Club sees surge in interest post-Olympics
By day, DeeAnn Wlodarski is an award-winning teacher at Grandview Middle School. In her spare time, for the last 10 years, she has served as president of the Kansas City Curling Club. So she has seen this phenomenon before. Every four years when the...
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KC hip-hop artists are changing the game
Jamel Thompson, known to his fans as The Royal Chief, has hosted many music release parties in his over more than a decade as a hip-hop artist. But on Feb. 12, he debuted a different creation — beer. The Kansas City native partnered with Vine Street...
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